About 35 hours into the painting process, my work on Marketplace of the Mind for the NW branch of the Dayton Metro Library is coming along quite nicely. This 6 foot square "beast" is a part of the Reimagining Works project and I hope to have it completed by early fall 2015, if not sooner.

A bit of a portrait shot, bundled up in two sweaters, with the time lapse camera clicking away every minute.

Just beginning to block in the elephants. The border elements still have a way to go, but I wanted to get more of the image blocked in so I could tell what areas need more work.

Beginning the background tiles which are inspired by the fountain originally installed at the Fairview High School.

Loving the tiles and the overall "rusty" vibe of the work. The plan is to bring in more dark tones and then the real detailing will begin.

Taming The Beast has been an exercise in ingenuity. Getting a predetermined image onto a 6 foot square canvas without completely redrawing it is quite a task.

There have been several rounds of scale drawings for every element of the image.

A tall intern is definitely helpful for creating the outer grid for the border.

Using a sheet of acetate, I traced the scale images so I could project them to the canvas. This technique was perfect for the main image, but does not seem to be effective for the smaller repeating border elements.

Using the acetate tracing of the shield section, I kept it mostly intake, but cut into sections so I could trace around the major elements. This provided me with enough information to connect the lines and complete the section. Boo's mind is blown by this technique.

Here you can see those shield sections and one of the bulldog corners. I decided to measure out the basic bulldog form, but instead of making them uniform as planned, I thought it would be more fun to give each one a different personality.

Work in progress. This painting is 28" x 38". More images can be found on my Pinterest Board for this painting.

The phases of the Pokeweed plant. It starts with the delicate white flowers, transitions into the green pods and then to the rich, dark berries. Native Americans used to use this North American plant for inks.

The sketch to scale, then I use carbon paper to transfer it to the panel.

Starting with a wash of magenta, or more specifically, Liquitex Quinacridone.

The muses for this piece, sisters Hayden and Paige. Photographed in my backyard with the other muse for this piece, Pokeweed.

Starting work on Paige. My thoughts with her character is that she represents the past. She is connected to the white flower phase of the Pokeweed plant, so I want to try to make her as light and white as possible.

Getting the details in her face. This is a still from the time lapse video I am creating while working on this painting.

The first bits of color, the Cheshire Cat returns...but not for long.

Beginning Hayden's face. She represents the future and she will be bold, inspired by the final phases of the Pokeweed.

I just did not like how the cat was sitting in this space. I knew it from the sketch, but I just kept telling myself to keep with it. He may return in a different location.

Getting playful with the background. I want this piece to be a mix of what I have learned from working on the Wasp in a Wig and Identification Series. Tightly detailed, yet loose and playful.

Boo assists with the tracing paper for a second cat.

A short-lived attempt at a second cat. I got a nice little time lapse video from this, but the cat is in the trash.

The cat is replaced by a hybrid Bonsai/Pokeweed tree.

My supervisor keeps me on task. Not 100% on her face. Changes to come.

Back in 2007, I started a painting called Santiago. It was a playful piece inspired by the name my husband selected for his identity in our Spanish class, mine was Margarita. I put a lot of time into this painting, and even "finished" it, posting the completed work on my site...

While cleaning out my storage bins, Santiago called out to me from beneath the protective covering, so I removed him and shuttered at the monstrosity before me. Lifeless eyes, muted values, and what the *$%# did I do to the cat?

At some point, I had decided that the interior of a pirate ship would be darker and he needed to be more menacing. What I succeeded in doing was destroying the piece. So now he sits on my easel, begging the question, "Do I toss it or try to fix it?"

Normally I would say screw it, remove the soiled canvas and start fresh. Why does this one cause me to pause? Is it the perceived value in the time to which I have already committed? My guess would be the emotional connection to the piece, because it is representing my husband and our cat, Ti. A decision has been made and the piece will NOT return to storage. Pull the plug or resuscitate, matey!

Much of my days are now spent transforming my artwork into functional accessories. These pouches, hand-sewn by me, are a labor of love. Here I am able to take recent artwork or paintings that found a home long ago, and create something new and exciting! I have so many designs that I want to make from existing paintings, as well as so many ideas for new paintings that can eventually become a Paranormals Pouch! After the painting has been photographed, I manipulate the digital files on the computer. Pixelmator has a filter called Kaleidoscope and it what I use to create the back panels. Here you can see the process in this video...

Once the digital files are finished, I assemble them in a 36"x58" (150dpi) file and upload it to Spoonflower.

I prefer the Heavy Cotton Twill, which is a sturdy 100% cotton twill with an optic white finish. Appropriate for home decorating including drapery, table linens and some upholstery projects, banners, tote bags, pants, coats and jackets.

Once the fabric arrives, usually 2 weeks later, I cut the sections apart with a rotary blade cutter.

The next stage is coordinating the zippers, which I get from the lovely ladies at Sew Dayton, and fabric for the inner lining. As a thrift store junky, I am able to find lots of amazing fabrics that I bring home, wash and upcycle into their new form.

I work like an assembly line, doing all of the pinning, sewing and ironing at one time.

Then I sew. It is very exhausting, but I have lots of help...NOT!

Here is the small, coin-purse style pouch made from my painting, Fumage, which was created as a part of my Wasp in a Wig Series of paintings inspired by the Alice books by Lewis Carroll.

Even similar pouches can have different personalities depending on the zipper/fabric combos.

Here is the large make-up bag style pouch, for all your personal grooming needs!

I plan to eventually sell these on my website and at art festivals. Currently, I am trying to keep up with the incoming orders (a nice problem to have!), so I am also working on displays and ways to sell them once I get enough made. Here is an old suitcase I found at a flea market in Michigan.

Now transformed with paint and black velvet into a lovely display case for my small pouches.

Interested in picking up a Paranormals Pouch? Send me an email! Be sure to sign up for my Announcement List for updates on pouches and the new website!

Things have been quiet around the Dollhouse Diary lately, as I have been focused on other projects. Since you are not be old enough to play with it for a few, I have some time to get back to it, but today you are a bit closer! Happy Birthday! Just because I have not been posting, does not mean the project has been abandoned. I have been collecting more items for decorating the house, TOF has been making furniture and Grandma Kollar has been making rugs! Here are two of her rugs and a tissue set she got for you!

I am currently trying to figure out how to make a living as an artist, but the dollhouse has been calling my name and I will get back to it soon, I promise! I am excited for the day that we can play with it together and you can add your special touches. I love you!

Then I really began to develop the values to create the sense of volume.

At this point, I am not pleased with the horns, so after playing around with the image on my computer, I try a different orientation.

When I switched the horns around, i sanded the area, which left a strange glossy spot on the surface. I resolved this issue by adding a thin layer of black glitter. It covered that error and created a nice texture around the top of the skull.

Toned down the glitter and incorporated it into the surface more.

Still not happy with the horns, so I tried them in a dark value.

I really wanted the background to be dark, but I am not sure I like the dark horns against the dark background.

Brought in a blue glow to the interior of the mouth.

Finally concluded that the horns were horrible and needed a total revamp. I decided to play around with asymmetrical format.

Adding color to the horns made it possible to bring more color to the skull as if the horns are glowing and reflecting onto it.

The head is looking great, but now I hate the pile of "rocks" below it.

Some artists like expansive white studios with perfect natural lighting. Perhaps I would too, but I have always felt most at home in small, eclectic spaces. Until the beginning of this year, my studio space (9′x15′) was a bit chaotic (to put it nicely!). In addition to feeling overwhelmed by clutter I was now sharing my studio with a lovely stray cat that we took in, Tinsel. It became very clear to me that the time had come to purge and reorganize.

This is my studio before the rehab. Random cat beds, a litter box out in the open, and just plan disorder.

The studio with the wide-angle lens. Now you can really get a feel for how nuts it had become.

First I had to get rid of some materials and condense and reorganize the ones I wanted to keep. I went through every inspiration image that I had collected.

Boo and I were both amazed at all the dead paint that was taking up space! Sure, I had old, crappy supplies that needed tossed, but what about the good stuff that I could not bear to throw away because they still possessed artistic value? Solution! My friend, Tabitha, took them and now they are used to teach kids art at the Decoy Art Studio!

Amongst my materials, I had acquired a small collection of glitter…yes, I need help.

I combined those of like colors and ended up storing them in a repurposed spice rack.

I wanted to keep the costs down for this project. One way I did this was by purchasing all of my fabric at the thrift store. I found some matching silky curtains for the windows, tablecloths that I used to recover the desk chair and a mismatched grouping of cotton curtains that I pieced together as a slip cover for the old, brown sofa.

Now it was time to paint! I moved most of the items from the studio, but the easel and sofa had no where to go. Ti and the other cats enjoyed this new perch while it lasted.

The pale sea foam green walls changed to a deep olive thanks to a gallon of paint I found in the reject bin for $10. I did not know what I was going to use it for at the time, but I could not pass up that luscious color!

I wanted to keep my striped wall, but I updated it with some new colors and added more stripes where they had stopped around the window.

After countless hours and several trips to Decoy Art Studio, the studio is finished! The rug was my major splurge item. I must have looked at hundreds of rugs at all sizes and prices, but that one was PERFECT! The one thing I did not take into consideration was the fact that it is looped wool, which our kitten, Boo, says makes for a lovely scratching surface. Sigh…

As you can see, rearranging the furniture was a major element to the project. Now the room is more open and inviting. The white interactive work station (desk) that was created for my Identification show at the University of Dayton now has a permanent home as workspace and storage space in the studio. The litter box is now located behind the curtain as well as my paints, with plenty of extra room.

In this area I put a magnetic white erase board for jotting down ideas and a cork board for displaying inspiration images. I am also able to bring my sewing machine out for the first time in years! I am looking forward to taking some classes at Sew Dayton now!

Instead of her food being out in the open, Tinsel has a protected food nook that doubles as seating space. She also has matching window perches and a scratching post. So spoiled!

I was determined to get organized with this remodeling. This is the board near the entrance to the studio. This is where I post projects in progress or timely items that I need to keep in mind, such as show deadlines or pick up dates. I made this with an old frame, some sheets of cork and then I glued some of the hand cut cork pebbles from my UD show to give it some flair.

These cork boards over the sofa are were I will post work in progress. Right now they are home to the bamboo panels I purchased from the Portland, Oregon based company, Plywerk. Soon they will be paintings! You can also see that my skeleton, Roger, is right at home in the new space below the work by Scarecrowoven! I have moved a good amount of our acquired art collection to the studio so I can be inspired by my fellow artists as I create new works in my new amazing space!

My first thought for the design was inspired by the concept of Incorruptibility. I was thinking of making an angel with warped wings. We decided it was not the right vibe, and went a completely different route.

Who is incorruptible? I really like how the devil prompted this question.

With the sketch approved, I began drawing and finally inking the design.

Boo was extra helpful with this one and he kept my lap warm through the chilly inking process.

His face was just how I had imagined and I was very pleased with how his hair curled like the ornamentation on a currency bill, but the bill itself...meh!

I had him digitized and tried this design, but we had lost all of the currency vibe and it was back to the drawing board.

I roughed out a sketch for a more direct interpretation of the concept and went back to work. Apparently, I have issues spelling "Belgian!"

Sometimes a sketch and the drawing are worlds apart! I was smitten with this dapper gentleman, but after some discussion, it was decided that it felt too much like a portrait and not enough like a bill. Plus, he was a little too creepy. A combo of the two would work, if only...

I love working with artist materials, like pencils and ink pens, but sometimes computers really save the day! I returned to the original design and drew out the rest of his head.

Then I inked some of the new design.

I was not thrilled with his dark, closely trimmed haircut, so I drew a sort of toupee to add to the drawing.

I also drew a few extra elements to add to the background. Some of these elements ended up being cropped out for the table toppers, but they are there if they ever want to do a poster or other items with the design.

Incorruptible was just tapped on April 3, 2014, but it will not be around for long. It is a serious spring delight! Grab one and see up close how the two designs came together!

Each design starts out with a proposal phase. I like to keep these drawings fairly simple, with enough info to see if they like the concept. For this beer, I started with three sketches. It was decided that humans made the most sense for this beer, but the birds may play a role in a future design.

This version still cracks me up! I modeled the man on the right after Vincent Price, to give it more of a dark vibe, but the trio look as if they will break out in song at any moment. I suppose some people would find that terrifying!

At one point, I had proposed this concept of three figures and the Dayton sky line in the background.

It was turned down initially while we tried a different route. This image was inspired by a drawing of Dayton's first settlers. The settlers traveled North from Cincinnati by Pirouge (a flat bottom boat).

The last design was too "Little House on the Prairie," so I decided to revisit the men and the Dayton skyline. They just needed proper boating attire!

Since the beer was a Black Tripel, I knew I wanted the design to be dark, a night scene. The original is drawn in pen.

On January 18, 2014, Warped Wing Brewery opened it's doors to the public. Several weeks later, I sat down in the tasting room and enjoyed my first new brew by the legendary John Haggerty, best known as former Head Brewer for New Holland Brewery and the creator of Dragon's Milk.

When we arrived the only remaining seats were three positioned by the front entrance, which we later realized were the best in the house! We got in line, grabbed beers and perched ourselves on the amazing vintage-style bar stools. From this location, you could view all of the patrons chatting and enjoying the three original brews; 10 Ton Oatmeal Stout (my fav!), Flyin' Rye IPA and Ermal's Belgian Style Cream Ale. Looking around you immediately register that the building is massive and you are only seeing a portion of it. The exposed brick walls and glass panels only hint at the history of this place. I originally visited the location when it was the Foundry Dance Club. At that time it was dark and dirty, but now the space is bright and inviting, with the impressive 10 ton box crane perched overhead. I sat there, enjoying my 10 Ton Stout, loving the twisted bird's wing logo, the environment and the experience as a whole.

Over the past few years, Mark and I have gone on several brewery tours. Some were to established favorites like Bell's Brewery and others were new discoveries, like Old Boys Brewhouse (Me at the dog themed "Old Boys Brewhouse" with my impressive flight and Mark's delicious sour!). Each location had a different personality with new tastes to enjoy. I would not call myself an expert, but definitely experienced when it comes to craft beer and breweries. That day convinced me of one thing, Warped Wing has all the components to be a successful business and a beloved brewery and I hoped to be a part of it.

I always tell young artists that it never hurts to ask. Whether it is another artist's technique, materials, or experiences, ask them! Maybe they won't respond, but perhaps you will learn something or better yet, connect with someone who inspires you. This also goes for businesses that speak to you. I sent Warped Wing a message saying I loved what they were doing and mentioned that I was a local artist who would love to work with them on a project if the occasion should ever arise. They quickly responded with a thank you and, much to my surprise, that they did indeed have a project in mind. They were getting ready to release their fourth brew, this one would be a Red IPA.

Indian art has always resonated with me, with it's lush details, symbolism and craftsmanship. I immediately began researching and taking notes.

With the general thumbs-up on the design, I began roughly sketching different orientations of the hands and the objects she held.

Once determined, I began the final drawing on a good sheet of Strathmore Bristol paper.

She would be holding a mix of traditional symbols, such as the lotus flower (which looks like an artichoke at this point!) and tools of the brewery trade, such as hops.

After the sketch was finally hashed out, it was inked and then I erased the remaining pencil marks.

The original color for this design was done in colored pencil, but due to graphic design requirements, the color was later converted and vectorized.

The release date was moved up in order to pay homage to the passing of one of the Warped Wing family members. It was a beautiful tribute to a strong young woman. So many people came out that night to raise a glass to her memory and experience Dayton history in the making.